Smarter. Medication. Management.

Patient-Related Factors

Medication non-compliance is the failure to take a
medication according to the prescribed directions. Although medications are
effective in combating disease, approximately 50% of patients do not take their
medications as prescribed. Poor adherence to medication
leads to increased morbidity and death and is estimated to incur costs of
approximately $100 billion per year.1 While following
instructions for your medications may seem simple, there are a lot of different
factors that lead to medication compliance.

What Causes
Non-Compliance?

Non-compliance factors can be broken down into
three categories: Patient-related, physician-related and health system/team
building-related.

Patient-Related Factors:

While there are several patient-related factors, the main contributor to medication non-compliance is inadequate health literacy. In the United States alone, an estimated 90 million adults have inadequate health literacy.1 Inadequate health literacy can lead to a lack of understanding their condition or medication instructions. In order to improve compliance, understanding the ‘why’ behind why patients don’t take medications correctly and providing the appropriate education is an absolute necessity. These reasons are very individualized and the more a patient understands their condition and how to control it, the more likely they are to feel impowered and motivated to manage their disease and adhere to their medications.

Physician-Related Factors:

Physicians can often unintentionally lead to
medication nonadherence by prescribing complex drug regimens, prescribing
medications that may be unaffordable to the patient, or inadequately explaining
possible side-effects a patient may experience. A solution to this is incorporating
a pharmacist into the care team to provide medication education and spending
more time with the patient when developing their care plan.

Health System/Team Building-Related Factors:

Unfortunately, due to fragmented health systems,
physicians do not have easy access to information from a patient’s numerous
care providers. This can cause issues when developing an effect care strategy
and communicating with a patient. Another factor in health systems that lead to
non-compliance are drug costs, which can greatly limit a patient’s access to
care. Increased implementation of electronic medical records and electronic
prescribing has the potential to increase adherence by identifying patients at
risk of nonadherence and targeting them for intervention. Another solution can
be the incorporation of a medication therapy management service, which can help
identify instances of nonadherence and possible substitutions for costly
medications.

How Does
Tria Health Help Prevent Non-Compliance?

Tria Health is offered through your benefits plan.
With Tria, you have the option of receiving a one-on-one private consultation
with one of Tria Health’s pharmacists over the phone. During your consultation,
your pharmacist will review all your current medications, including vitamins, supplements
and lifestyle habits. Your pharmacist will be able to identify any medication
interactions, affordable substitutions and answer any other medication-related
questions you may have. At the end of your consultation, you’ll receive a
customized care plan that Tria will assist in coordinating with any of your
physicians.